does anyone out there have kids that suffer from excema? my baby is 6 months and he is miserable...HELP!!

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Christy - posted on 03/14/2010

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California Baby Calendula Cream has been a life saver for my now 5 month old. He was born with eczema patches on his face and one elbow. We already used fragrance free detergents and dove soap on our daughter who has sensitive skin, but not eczema, so that was not a problem. The pediatrician told me to use hydrocortizone cream, but it didn't work as well for him. There are other brands of calendula cream that my be less expensive, but I trust California Baby and use several of their products on the kids. The cream has also worked wonders on my extremely dry hands from washing them and the dishes all the time.

My 8 year old has always had problems with this. My son has used different types of steroid creams prescribed by this doctor, which seem to help. Try a cream like eucerine or cetaphyl ( sorry for my spelling). His doctor told us we need a thick cream instead of a lotion. We use cream at night right after his bath which has also helped. We also have seen a dermatologist about this, who like his doctor prescribed steroid creams and recommended moisturizers.

we mix prescription hydrocorizone with Eucern cream and put it on him 3 times a day. Also benedryl helps a lot! you just need to ask your dr how much you can give him. Our 4 1/2 month old gets like 1/2 tsp. Also Aveeno makes an oatmeal soothing bath treatment that my little one loves! It comes in a box and should be by the baby lotion and stuff in the store. We just fill up the sink with warm water and put a packet in and let him sit for 10-15 (how ever long he lets us) I only bathe him twice a week (4 month olds done get that dirty) and use Cetaphil wash on him. Eczema is terrible :0( i hope your baby can get some releif!

California baby makes a wonderful lotion called Calendula cream, really helped our son. I would also recommend looking at your diet if your are nursing, I found my youngest was sensitive to anything dairy or soy in my diet and it always caused him to have excema. Check out Baby Matters, a book that covers a lot of these issues.

Okay im telling you this because myself and my son suffer from this. And we use a ointment not a cream . The ointment is better because it goes deeper into the skin and get to the moister back into the skin the name of the ointment is uliviate . I work amazingly . You put that on him and the next day you will tell a difference . If that wont give him that then ask for some thing similar to that. But I swear by this stuff , I have had excema since I was 16 and have used many other and nothing but this one has worked. So i just keep using it . Good luck !!!! let me know what happens.

the ointment listed did not work on my son. We use corona oinment that is for cow utters. it is mainly lanolin and is not toxic if they happen to eat it. I purchase it at walmart it is a big yellow tub with red lid. it cost less than $10 and lasts a long time

my oldest is terrible and he has been since he was a new born the dr told me it was just the dry climate and said to try and only bath him every other day instead of everyday and to use a moisturizing soap like dove.. I also used vasaline and even though it makes them look all greasy it worked a little. Unfortunately he still has it and not much of anything has really really worked so thanks for asking this question its so sad for a lil guy to have to suffer from this

My son is 3 and has had it since he was about the same age. I took him to a pediatric allergist and they gave him medicine to take to help with the itching and they also perscribed him some kind of steriod cream. they also told me to use eucerin lotion and do NOT give them hot baths they need luke warm baths and keep them short and sweet. hot baths will just dry the skin even worse. keep him moistuized I know its a pain in the butt but 3 or more times a day put the lotion on him and never use anythig scented it will make it worse.

hi, my youngest son had extremely bad childhood excema but luckily grew out of it by the time he was 5. i had creams and medication from the doc but still unfortunately spent the first 1 1/2 years of his life pacing the floor with him at night. I' afraid to say a mothers love and patience is all that i was able to offer his suffering x

I would sugggest having your baby tested for allergies. It can be done by doing a simple blood test. If you are using a laundry soap with dyes in it, I would recommend changing because the dyes will just irritate his skin more. What you want to do is find something that will soothe his skin to calm the burning and itching. If you notice any drainage coming from his sites with the eczema take him to see the doctor because they are more than likely infected. Try to keep his skin clean and dry to help prevent irritation and infection. Calomine lotion works for some people but I would do whatever the doctor suggests. If you do use calomine make sure you do not get the stuff with benadryl in it (caladryl) and give him benadryl on top of it.

my son has had excema since he was born.... it comes and goes but when he breaks out he breaks out bad.... his doctor prescribed him cream for me to put on him several times a day...it was a hydrocortzone cream....it helped for a while but then it stopped working so i went and bought some anti itch cream over the counter and when he breaks out i rub it all over him and by the next morning its gone.... so get some hydrocortizone cream hopefully that helps u a bit

My son had excema as a baby, and the only thing that I found that helped was using pure oatmeal soap in his bath. But I heard that it may be caused by a deficiency in certain essential oils, and that fish oil supplements may help. (Or maybe sone other Omega 3 supplement).

I have had exzema all my life, and my son also has it. From my experience, I have found using Dove soap and shampoo for the bath and shower help to keep the skin less dry overall. I also use Cetaphyl cleanser for the face (the mild one with the blue label).

I have found this lotion that was recommended to me by my chiropractor called Calendula Cream (I like the Nature Works brand) works absolutely wonders on exzema. My niece had it really bad since she was born, and when we put this on her she told us she didn't itch all night for the very FIRST TIME! It can be bought over the internet or at most health food stores.

I have also heard that the Arbonne baby products (especially the baby oil and lotion) work really well, too.

It is true as far as other things that are in your environment. Try to stick to one type of laundry detergent (perhaps dye and perfume free even). This helps eliminate some of the reactions that inflame the exzema.

1st has your son ever had RSV? Mie did and shortly have after the excema started ... hydrocortisone cream OTC is great and was recommended by our doc, elidel couldn't be used until they are 2.

My husband is asthmatic and so they consider it an indicator in an RSV baby to watch for asthma. If a part has asthma there is an 80% chance of the child,could be higher if RSV baby.... not much you can do about that.

warm water in the tub aggrevates it, keep bath times shorter and use the hydrocortisone cream after bath and moisturizing baby lotion or olive oil (no perfumes or chemicals to moisturize.

we never used benedryl except when it first happened be cause they thought it might be an allergic reaction(so topical of course) but it didn't help. cotton clothes not tight fitting... hope this helps.

hello, my son also has exzema and what seemed to help him was bathing him with dove soap and using aveno lotion, doing this has pretty much eliminated the number of outbreaks when he does have and outbreak i put the hydrocortizone cream on him the doctor prescribed and give him benedryl as directed by the doctor

Instead of the cortisone cream we use eucerine (jar) it takes longer to get things under control, but it doesn't have the skin thinning issues. We use it only before bed now and it hasn't returned. Good luck

My brother in law who is three had really bad excema & his Mother used Auqaphor all over him after every bath & every morning. She never missed a day & we just recently were home & he looked great. He barely has it anymore. Hope it helps.

Eczema is an allergy. My son had a hugely bad case of it when he was young. We found out he was allergic to milk proteins and the eczema went practically away within the month. We also used Bag Balm. It's the ointment used on dairy cows' (don't laugh) teats. It's in a green tub and I bought it at Walmart believe it or not.

have heard about bag balm, she's right!

skin issues are 9 times out of 10 an allergy!!

using steroid cream isn't good for anyone, steroids do not leave the body.

go to a natropath. I'll bet you'll find milk allergies, speak from experience. Its not a fun allergy to have or "sensitivity" but I would almost guarantee an improvement when you remove the problem food, a natropath can help you do this.

have you been to your peadiatrician? he/she should beable to refer you to a dermatologist, who will have the experience to help you and your son.

my son was born with eczema all over his tummy, legs and face, the only way i could get any real answers or treatment was to take him to a dermatologist who gave him some streoid cream and some really good emollient creams.

you can buy loads of different emollient creams until then and if you use them about 5 times a day or more if you need to it will help loads, also dont use any soaps or washes on him, not even mild ones, but use the emollient creams on his skin to wash him in the bath every day. next you should try and find out the cause of the eczema, allergies are the most common cause, my son is allergic to cows milk and eggs.

i hope this is helpful to you, and i hope you can get things sorted for your son.

My 15 month old also has pretty bad eczema. We switched him to soy formula when he was younger, bathed him with Aveno baby wash and shampoo every other day, just water the other day, hydrocortisone for the really bad spots and loaded him up with Gentle Naturals Baby Ezcema cream every night before bed. You can find the Gentle Naturals just about everywhere, Target, Longs, Walgreen, Walmart. There's always a $1 off coupon in the box which is great. And used a humidifier every night plus washed his clothes only in Dreft, no fabric softener or dryer sheets. It's gotten better as he's gotten older but we still have to use the Aveno, Gentle Naturals and Dreft but he's now on regular milk and only breaks out really bad when he wears something washed in regular detergent. Keep his nails trimmed so that he can't scratch it and make it bleed and hopefully it will improve as he gets older. Although I have 5 yo son who still has it in a few places that we have to treat every once in awhile but he's much better than his brother! Good luck.

My little boy had Exzema really bad and they put him on a steroidal oil and then put him pn Cerave lotion and Cerave body wash. It works wonders. You can only get it at Walgreens or on the website Drugstore.com Hope this helps.

Eczema is an allergy. My son had a hugely bad case of it when he was young. We found out he was allergic to milk proteins and the eczema went practically away within the month. We also used Bag Balm. It's the ointment used on dairy cows' (don't laugh) teats. It's in a green tub and I bought it at Walmart believe it or not.

Try Hydrolatum, It's $10. It's not a prescription but the pharmacy has to order it for you. we used rite-aid. It is a great product, we have been using it for about 9 years, it was recomended by the Drs.@ Boston Children's Hospital. Hope it helps.

My mother in law sells Arbonne and I love the stuff. there is a really good cream (kinda pricey) but I can't remeber the name of it. I use aquaphor on my 2 year old and it works good. also mild soap in baths and no perfume lotions. Good luck

I was told about some baby products at an Arbonne party I attended. I don't have any babies anymore but my girlfriend does and her daughter has skin issues too so I brought her home some baby samples. One of the women at the party told us her daughter had the excema problem very badly also, so much so that she was on steroids and had an entire regime of medications and products under her belt. The Arbonne is 100% natural, no fragrances or any other non natural ingredients. This woman said her daughter has done so well with the products she has been able to come off the steroids altogether. Maybe you can research the products online and see what you think.

My 2 1/2 yr old boy has had a couple different bouts with eczema, the latest one being on his face. He finally said it bothered him when the upper lip got so dry and sensitive. The dermatologist said it typically comes on in the fall as the weather cools and gets worse in the winter when people start turning on heaters, which is what happened with my son. She prescribed a mild steroid cream to get it under control and then elidel for maintenance. The pharmacist said that likely we could use an over the counter cream once it was under control as long as we kept on top of it. We use Udderly Smoothe, (which we call the "moo cream" because it comes in a cow-patterned tub). When Harry had his first bout of eczema at 4 months a pharmacist recommended it, and it seems to work for us. We bathe more like 1 - 2x/wk and coat him with the cream after the bath. I can tell he doesn't have it quite as bad as others on this posting, but hope it helps.

My 7 month old son suffers badly from eczema. I tried a number of different lotions until finally finding doublebase is the best we use Eperadem and balneum in his bath. Have to put the Eperadem on twice a day and on before he goes swimming. He also tends to get eczema really bad when he is poorly and than nothing will work to ease it until he gets better.

one of my 18 month old twins is suffering from eczema BAD. the only thing that really helps him is pure shea butter rubbed on the areas. he has it really bad on his stomach all the way up to his neck. i also just noticed it starting on his knees and inner thighs. it doesnt seem to bother him too much, he's never itching or playing with it, but the shea butter does seem to help it out a lot. i tried other stuff, aquaphor, petroleum jelly, other lotions for eczema, but the butter is really the only thing that keeps it mosturized.

My son is 5 months and he had it extremely bad, we've just got it under control but of course not before trying a dozen different lotions and creams. My doctor prescribed him hydrocortisone first, that didn't really seem to have an effect on him so she prescribed a strong medication, I'm not sure of the name, in addition to benedryl.

Our home made remedy was to put 1 to 2 drops of melaleuca oil in his bath water and wash him with a melaleuca gold bar. I then grease him real good at night time when he's sleeping, that way when he wakes up his skin is still moist. The melaleuca products seem to do wonders on his skin. I'm very satisfied with them.

my nine month old boy suffers from excema and after having tried several creams i found that doublebase worked the beat. He doesnt seem to scratch that much and it keeps the skin hydrated for longer. Hope this helps. Oh and also some foods makes his excema worse so maybe it is worth keeping an eye out for that.

Have you asked your doctor? Both my boys have it and they have used elidel cream. The doctor can prescribe it but I am not sure how early they used it. They are 7 and 10 now. Eucerin also seems to help sometimes and Aquaphor might work. Aquaphor I know can be used for babies but the rest you'll have to ask. Hope this was helpful.